Now I, for one, am a fan of bike paths. We have one that goes right past our house that links to 60 miles or so of bike paths. I love it.

I’ve often said: “We can thank nature loving liberals for these nice bike paths we have” — though I imagine a few snail darters were killed during construction of these bike paths (which makes bike paths something of a dilemma for liberals).

Fair enough. And they are a public good that everyone can use.

But I certainly don’t consider them a viable mode of transportation. They’re for exercise and recreation. They wind through the forests and creeks and go down by Lake Michigan. Nice.

At least I feel like I’m getting something for my tax money.

But this is a matter for local government — has nothing to do with what the Feds should be concerned about. Our local government can decide if we need bike paths, tennis courts, playgrounds, drinking fountains, hiking trails, skateboard parks, whatever. All fine. This is what local government is for.

We’re now facing an economic meltdown — an economy that’s teetering on the brink of a full-blown collapse. We have a $14.5 trillion debt. We have zero economic growth. Median incomes have dropped to 1996 levels. Obama’s Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says we are now in the “early stage of economic crisis.” In other words, something much worse is coming even than what we have seen to date from Obama.

So why is Harry Reid wasting everyone’s time talking about bike paths?

Wanda and Ben enjoy bike paths, but don’t consider it one of the major issues to be talking about during these times of economic crisis. Nor is this a federal concern.